Chapter 10: Kouki's Desire for Improvement

Seiko's POV

"I'd prefer you avoid hanging around that guy."

Mahito, huh...

A weird name for a spirit, but it says a lot about his true nature. I really would've liked to exorcise him today, but that'd just be too difficult.

I'm not sure my house would survive such a confrontation... and there are also the kids to protect.

"But we need to talk to him!!"

Young Okarun seems to have some understanding of the situation with Mahito, and he didn't argue with my order, simply nodding in response.

Unfortunately, Momo's still hesitant.

She's clearly troubled by something for a while now. I hope that guy hasn't gotten into her head with his words.

Little Aira already seems to have an obvious crush on him, given how she rushed after his departure.

Kids these days... they love bad boys too much.

I'll have to guide Momo, like every time she gets interested in a bad boy.

"You must've seen him better than all of us, right?"

Momo can perceive the essence or aura of anything, and even interact with it through telekinesis. She's surely already perceived Mahito's true nature.

Reminding her should be enough to discourage her from getting too interested in him.

I'm also a bit surprised by this girl named Kouki. It's abnormal that she can stay with Mahito, especially since she shares some similarities with Momo.

Logically, she should be extremely sensitive to Mahito's repulsive presence. Yet, she seems to want to stay by his side despite everything.

This simply proves how dangerous he is - he's managed to manipulate and persuade a young girl to become his loyal subordinate.

"Yes, I saw his aura... He's extremely different from Okarun-kun's, and he's more... repulsive than Granny Turbo's," Momo mumbles thoughtfully, slightly grimacing while recalling the scene.

"No wonder he doesn't sit right with his innocent kid face," I say, taking a cigarette.

*smoke*

"Yes, but... I felt Okarun-kun's ball's presence on him," Momo suddenly declares.

*cough*

I exhaled the smoke wrong.

"What?! You could've said that earlier!"

At the mention of his second ball, young Takamura couldn't control himself and grabbed Momo to encourage her to continue.

I can somewhat understand him. If Momo's telling the truth, then he would've missed tonight's opportunity to become a complete man again.

"I knew there was a familiar energy around the other brat, but I chalked it up to a yokai hostile to humans," Granny Turbo confirms, supporting Momo's words.

"Sorry Okarun-kun, but I had planned to ask him directly, which is why I proposed he accompany us to grandma's."

... Damn. I acted impulsively.

Momo brought him here to calmly retrieve Takamura's ball, and I screwed everything up because of my bad impression of Mahito. This is going to complicate ball retrieval.

*smoke*

"So annoying... But I'll have to allow you to talk to him again and try to invite him here to negotiate."

Given our current relationship, we can't really become friends easily... I made a real mess.

I'll have to negotiate with him to get the kid's ball.

....

Mahito's POV

"Sorry, boss, I won't do it again!!!"

While my idiot subordinate is tied up and hanging from Kouki's window, I'd stretched out on my apprentice's comfortable bed.

Sometimes, only a good punishment keeps people in line.

"No training today?"

From her voice's intonation, she seems slightly impatient.

I like that she's motivated.

"Well, I thought we'd rest, but we can always train a bit," I say, rolling on the bed one last time in my cat form before jumping on her shoulder.

"This time, you won't need to face a ghost or a weird creature," I added, signaling her to exit through the window.

Kouki nodded before jumping from the second floor of the residence and landing gracefully.

She's not yet skilled in body reinforcement through psychic energy, but she can use it slightly.

She definitely needs more training regarding psychic energy's effects on the human body. That's why I'm taking her to the nearest women's prison.

Why women's? Because I don't want Kouki to deeply manipulate male human bodies for now.

"You mentioned once that psychic abilities have a mental or cerebral aspect, but you didn't really elaborate."

*Damn*. I thought she was only interested in the environmental manipulation aspect of psychic abilities, but she seems to want to explore other aspects like cerebral manipulation.

Should I help her learn?

The problem is she might get confused if she tries to learn too many things at once...

I simply outlined the basics of physical improvement via psychic energy to prevent her from ending up like Momo, who becomes weak if her hands are bound.

It seems this has awakened her curiosity about other evolution paths available to her.

"Do you want to learn all possible psychic powers, or do you want to focus on those related to manipulating physical phenomena around you?"

My feline ears couldn't help but contract a bit while waiting for her response.

It's good that Kouki focuses on aerokinesis for now, but at the time she chose to use this type of power, Kouki needed immediate strength.

I'll understand if she wants to choose another power path after testing other ways. It seems body reinforcement has opened her eyes to other possibilities.

I remember wanting her to take the mind or cerebral manipulation path, but should I really influence Kouki in such an important decision?

The answer is of course!! I'm the master here, not her buddy.

"I'm not really sure," she says with an embarrassed and clearly confused tone.

As expected, she's still hesitating, huh.

"But I want to be stronger!!"

There was an indescribable fire in her eyes when she said that while looking at me.

"Then, the best path is versatility, but you'll gain power slowly," I say honestly.

If she tries to learn and master all aspects of psychic abilities, it would be too long for her.

It's like a Nen user in Hunter x Hunter wanting to master all Nen types.

It's just madness, given human lifespan.

Of course, there's the option of creating another Kurapika, but I don't want to kill Kouki.

I don't like wasting life unnecessarily, and who knows how long I have left in this reality?

Nothing guarantees the loyalty of my next subordinates either. Rin is loyal, but not as much as Kouki, for now.

"That's why you suggested I first learn psychic abilities I'm most comfortable with?" Kouki asks after a moment of silence.

"Exactly. But you can also learn the basics of some, in case you face an abnormal situation, or simply because it's convenient," I say in a reassuring tone.

"I understand, like body reinforcement to facilitate our movements," she mumbles thoughtfully.

She shouldn't get impatient; her sensei is watching over her growth ~

At worst, I'll just "negotiate" with the Yokai stuck in Danmanra's dimension, held by Zuma.

I have an Okarun ball. I think it'll be easy to use my powers in that damn cursed suitcase.

I like the idea of stealing this Yokai's powers.

This thing can literally manipulate an individual's senses and boost their strength proportionally to their potential.

Zuma obtained monstrous strength in an instant thanks to that.

This Yokai even mentioned that Rin has potential big enough to cause enormous chaos in the world with its "help".

It would be truly incredible if I could transform it into a subordinate. And at worst, I can simply devour it to use its power myself.

Anyway, I have absolute confidence in beating this Yokai. Why? I'm literally its worst opponent.

I don't need my eyes, ears, or other senses to detect or fight an opponent.

I simply have too many means to detect an opponent during combat, like soul wavelength, aura, ultrasounds like a bat, a snake's tongue, and I can modify my body to produce other organs if mine are confiscated during the fight.

I also know how to protect my soul and spirit from intrusions. So, I'm the natural predator of the "Fairy-Tale Card".

(Image)

"You sure your GPS indicates the nearest women's prison correctly?" I say doubtfully, looking at a strangely familiar high school, but I can't remember where I've seen it.

"Oh sorry, sensei, it's a boys' prison from a former girls' school. I think we need to go further, outside the city."

I nodded, leaving the place with Kouki.